Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Quorn Area School acknowledges the educational value of digital devices and online services in supporting and enhancing educational outcomes and learners’ well-being. We also recognise they may cause harm if used inappropriately and that we need to support our learners to use them in safe, responsible, and respectful ways to enhance learning and engagement.
The Department for Education’s policy requires all learners at all department schools to keep personal devices ‘off and away’ between the start and end of each school day and while attending school activities off-site, such as camps and excursions. After carefully considering, we have decided to use Yondr pouches to secure mobile phones during the school day.
The Yondr system is a simple, lockable pouch that stores a mobile phone.
- Every learner will turn their devices off or place them in flight mode before securing their phone in a personally assigned Yondr pouch when they arrive at school each morning (before 8:45). This includes taking off and storing any wearable technology that fits the definition of this policy, such as smartwatches.
- The front office will maintain possession of learners’ phones and, therefore, will not be available for use until they are unlocked after the bell at the end of the school day.
- Learners are required to leave their Yondr pouch at school each day.
PLEASE READ THE FULL VERSION OF THE UPDATED POLICY:
RESPONSES TO NON-COMPLIANCE
When learners use a personal device at school inappropriately, a response will be provided in line with the school’s learner management policy.
In the first instance, learners will be verbally reminded to put their devices ‘off and away’. If the learner continues to use their device without permission, the teacher will ask the learner to go to the Front Office and hand in their device(s) to be securely stored by staff. The phone or device(s) can be collected from the Front Office at the end of the school day (after the bell, no earlier).
Where a learner repeatedly and intentionally breaches the requirements of this policy or refuses to follow a staff member’s direction to hand over a personal device that has been used inappropriately, a member of the school leadership team will contact home.
Where a learner’s misuse of personal devices is severe, it may be necessary for the school to consider responses in line with the department’s suspension, exclusion, and expulsion of student’s procedure or to contact South Australian Police if the behaviour is suspected to be illegal.
We appreciate your support in adopting the Yondr Program at Quorn Area School to best serve your child.
We will be launching this system on (Monday, 1st May, Term 2, 2023)
PLEASE SIGN BELOW TO SHOW YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD
THE NEW MOBILE PHONE POLICY & RETURN IN WEEK 1 OF TERM 2.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school directly at 86486101 or contact the Partnerships, Schools, and Preschools division – Mobile policy unit at 8463 5605 or Email: education.mobilepolicy@sa.gov.au
HOW YONDR WORKS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What if I want to reach my child during the school day?
We want our learners to be engaged in their learning. Please refrain from contacting your child during the school day unless it is necessary. Contact the Front Office on 86486101 to reach your child.
What if there is an emergency?
In case of an emergency, we direct our learners to safety first. School staff will be able to unlock a Yondr pouch in a matter of seconds for learners once they are in a safe and secure location.
Will my child’s phone be safe?
The phones will be locked in the Front Office in their individual Yondr pouch - for the entire school day.
What if the pouch gets damaged?
The Yondr pouch belongs to the school just like any other school supply. If a learner damages a Yondr pouch, he/she will be held responsible. The learner’s phone will be confiscated, and a parent must come to school to retrieve it.
What if my child requires their phone for medical reasons?
The school policy would allow for an exemption for those learners that require the use of phones for medical purposes e.g., learners with Type 1 Diabetes measuring blood sugar levels
What if classroom teachers want to complete research tasks using phones as a tool?
Mobile phones are not required at school, and learners can access more suitable technology, such as laptop banks and computer rooms, for most tasks.
